Rhyhorn Line/SM
Rhyhorn is available via Island Scan at Blush Mountain on Sundays. The Protector is available in the post-game from Kiawe's father in Paniola Town; additional ones may be bought at the Battle Tree for 32 BP. Important Matchups * Ilima (Hau'oli City, Normal-type, optional): Gumshoos does pathetic amounts of damage to Rhyhorn and even Smeargle's Water Gun is a lousy 5HKO (and that's without Eviolite). Pick an attack to spam and enjoy. * Lana (Konikoni City, Water-type, optional): If Rhyhorn holds an Eviolite and gets lucky with Rock Blast it might be able to beat Shellder. That's it. Or better yet, don't use a 'mon with a double water weakness at all. * Kiawe (Royal Avenue, Fire-type, optional, Sun only): Rock Blasts, Rock Blasts everywhere. Marowak's the only one that could pose a threat and that's only if Rhyhorn is burned and lacking Eviolite. * Mallow (Lush Jungle, Grass-type, optional, Moon only): Phantump lacks Grass moves so it's not much of a threat; Payback is the best choice but Rock Blast also serves well. Avoid Shiinotic; its Mega Drain is brutal. Steenee can be chanced (with Rock Blast or Payback) if Rhyhorn has the Eviolite, though if both Razor Leafs crit Rhyhorn will fall. * Totem Mimikyu (Thrifty Megamart): Rhyhorn can lead with Rock Blast to break the Disguise and do damage in the same turn but it's not powerful enough to hang in for the full ride. * Plumeria (Route 15): Golbat's damage output is puny; chuck Rock Blasts at it. Rhyhorn easily tanks an attack from Salazzle and answers with a Bulldoze/Drill Run OHKO. * Guzma (Shady House): Keep Rhyhorn far away from Golisopod and its deadly Razor Shell. On the other hand, Ariados can't do much to Rhyhorn, making it a prime target for some Rock Slides. * Gladion (Aether House): Golbat's largely harmless; chuck rocks at it. Sneasel's Icy Wind may hurt a bit, but not enough; Rock Slide and Smart Strike are both 2HKOs on it, with the former having a chance to one-shot. Null is tough, but Drill Run spam will eventually bring it down. * Nanu (Malie City, Dark-type): Avoid Sableye; assuming Rhyhorn has the Eviolite you'll 3HKO each other with Drill Run and Shadow Ball respectfully but Sableye has the speed advantage. Also avoid Krokorok; with Eviolite it'll 2HKO with Earthquake or possibly one-shot without Eviolite. For that matter, Rhyhorn can't face Persian either; Black Hole Eclipse has a good chance to OHKO even through the Eviolite. * Faba (Aether Paradise): Bit of a dice roll; Rhyhorn's Payback will 2HKO while Hypno's Psychic is only a 3HKO (Eviolited) but Hypnosis can easily mess things up...if it hits. * Faba (Aether Paradise, tag battle with Hau): Rhyhorn can take out the Ledian with a Rock Slide, but that's really all it can do; Slowbro has hard-hitting Psychic and lots of Defense, Bruxish two-shots with Aqua Jet and Hypno is as dice-rolly as before. * Guzma (Aether Paradise): Continue avoiding Golisopod and dropping rocks on Ariados. Rhyhorn can survive one of Masquerain's Bug Buzzes and KO it with one Rock Slide. Pinsir's Brick Breaks will hurt but Rhyhorn can take it long enough for a Rock Slide 2HKO. * Lusamine (Aether Paradise): Not really anything that Rhyhorn can do here; Lilligant, Milotic and Bewear have supereffective STAB while Clefable and Mismagius strike hard at its poor Special Defense. * Hapu (Vast Poni Canyon, Ground-type): Rhydon can survive a non-crit (or crit as well if Eviolited) from Dugtrio and respond with a OHKO using Hammer Arm, Drill Run or (if you have it) Earthquake. That's all Rhydon can do here; Gastrodon's Muddy Water OHKOs, Flygon hits hard with Earth Power and Mudsdale has massive physical bulk and a good chance of one-shotting with Tectonic Rage. * Totem Kommo-o (Vast Poni Canyon): No. The Totem 2-3 shots with every one of its attacks (and that's with Eviolite) while being able to tank even Earthquakes easily. (Rhydon can at least mop up its ally, but given the level gap that's not a huge feat.) * Lusamine (Ultra Space): Rhydon is best off avoiding Clefable; it would have to be extremely lucky to win and Clefable's not the sort to gamble on. Naturally Lilligant and Milotic are not the sort of thing Rhydon can fight. If Rhydon has Payback it can nail Mismagius for a OHKO. Bewear simply hits too hard with Hammer Arm while not taking enough damage thanks to Fluffy and stat spread. * Solgaleo (Altar of the Sunne, Sun only): Earthquake will knock off a good chunk of Solgaleo's health but then pull Rhydon out of there; Sunsteel Strike hits hard. * Lunala (Altar of the Moone, Moon only): Rhydon can bring it down to about half health with a single Payback, but given that Moongeist Beam two-shots it shouldn't hang around afterward. * Gladion (Mount Lanakila): Chuck a few Rock Slides at Crobat and it'll go down easy. Weavile is OHKOed by Hammer Arm or Rock Slide. Rhydon can handle one Aura Sphere from Lucario and respond with an Earthquake OHKO. As for Silvally, Fire falls to a few Earthquakes but Rhydon should keep away from Water and Grass. * Hau (Mount Lanakila): Eviolited Rhydon (because Focus Blast kills otherwise) can smack down Raichu with a single Earthquake. Flareon can't do much damage and is one-shotted by Earthquake. Komala (again, with Eviolite required) can be beaten via a combination of Hammer Arm and its own Wood Hammer recoil, though Rhydon will have little health left afterward. Pummel Incineroar with Earthquakes if Eviolited or just nuke it with Tectonic Rage. Avoid all Water and Grass types. * Elite Four Hala (Pokémon League, Fighting-type): As might be expected Rhydon can do nothing here. Massive Defense is no match for supereffective STAB Fighting moves with full Attack investment. * Elite Four Olivia (Pokémon League, Rock-type): Apart from Relicanth (whose Hydro Pump puts it solidly on the NOPE list) Rhydon should have little trouble dealing Earthquake-flavored pain to Olivia's team. * Elite Four Acerola (Pokémon League, Ghost-type): Being a physical attacker with mediocre Attack means Sableye can't do much; Earthquake it. Drifblim will be down in two Rock Slides; just hope that it doesn't Baton Pass to something more dangerous. The rest of the team is out of Rhydon's range; Dhelmise's Energy Ball is a sure OHKO; Froslass's Blizzard has a good chance of one-shotting and Palossand can kill with one Earth Power or Giga Drain. * Elite Four Kahili (Pokémon League, Flying-type): Unless Rhydon's packing Flamethrower for some odd reason Skarmory will be able to out-spam it. (And even then you're just giving it a chance to set up Spikes.) Drop a few Rock Slides on Crobat; it won't hurt Rhydon much. One Rock Slide will KO Oricorio, who can do little more than annoy with Teeter Dance and Feather Dance. Mandibuzz is finished off by two or three Rock Slides; yes it has Bone Rush, but that's a 4HKO even if it hits 5 times each time. Toucannon should be avoided though; its Bullet Seed (which always hits five times thanks to Skill Link) has a high chance of OHKOing Rhydon. * Professor Kukui (Pokémon League): One Earthquake will knock out Lycanroc. Avoid Ninetales; Blizzard has a good chance to one-shot Rhydon. Braviary's no problem; throw Rock Slides at it. Magnezone can OHKO with Flash Cannon and thanks to Sturdy will take at least two hits to defeat, so no. Snorlax is doable; its strongest move (High Horsepower) is only a 4HKO on an Eviolited Rhydon while being defeated by three Hammer Arms at worst. As for the starters; Incineroar goes down in an Earthquake or two but keep well away from Primarina/Decidueye. * Tapu Koko (Ruins of Conflict): Thanks to its Electric immunity Rhydon can only be harmed by Nature's Madness, which can't actually kill it, making it a perfect choice for this fight. * Post-Game: Moves When caught Rhyhorn will have Skull Bash (not worth taking two turns) Bulldoze (its source of Ground STAB until Drill Run), Chip Away (solid until Return's available) and Rock Blast (Rock Tomb's more reliable). Level 33's Drill Run is an upgrade on Bulldoze. Level 37's Take Down is only recommended on Rock Head specimens that haven't maxed out on Return. Stone Edge at level 41 is lacking in accuracy and Rhyhorn/don's unlikely to Z-Move it. At level 42 it evolves and learns Hammer Arm a potent move whose Speed debuff is a moot point on Rhydon. Earthquake at level 48 is an obvious pick,being its most powerful move with no drawbacks. Level 55's Megahorn is powerful, but it won't see any use against the remaining maingame opponents. Lastly Horn Drill comes in too late for the maingame at level 62, plus its atrocious accuracy is not worth it. For TMs, Rock Tomb and later Rock Slide are great for STAB. Payback nearly always hit for its boosted damage thanks to Rhydon's terrible Speed. Other coverage moves like Poison Jab and Smart Strike have some niche uses. Swords Dance can be useful if used right, though buffs are risky on such a slow 'mon. Same deal with Sandstorm. While it can use Z-Moves (with Continental Crush and Tectonic Rage being the clear winners) it generally does better with the Eviolite. Recommended moveset: Earthquake, Rock Slide, Hammer Arm, Payback Recommended Teammates Other Rhyhorn's stats Rhydon's Stats Rhyperior's Stats * What Nature do I want? Natures that lower its unusable Special Attack or its slow-even-for-Alola Speed are ideal. Brave and Adamant will be especially welcome during its offensively mediocre Rhyhorn stage. * Which ability do I want? Rock Head. It might not be able to do much with it, but Lightning Rod is wasted on a Ground type with negligible Special Attack. Plus, if you want to play around with Rhyperior in the post-game Rock Head will become the rather useful Solid Rock ability while Lightning Rod remains unchanged. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Regardless of whether you evolve Rhyhorn at level 42 or wait until 45 for an earlier Earthquake you should have a Rhydon by Hapu. Rhyperior is strictly post-game though. * How good is the Rhyhorn line in a Nuzlocke? * Weaknesses: Ground, Steel, Ice, Fighting, Grass (x4), Water (x4) * Resistances: Flying, Normal, Fire, Rock, Poison (x0.25) * Immunities: Electric * Neutralities: Ghost, Bug, Dark, Psychic, Dragon, Fairy Category:Sun/Moon